Regret: The most useless of human emotions
by anonymousjane
Summary: Better than it sounds. Buffys mum works for angels abusive billionaire father. When Buffy begins to attend the prestigious Angelus academy, she learns more about Liam’s past than perhaps she wanted. BA, maybe WO, others if wanted.
1. Default Chapter

**Hi There! **

**A/N This is another one of my story ideas that just popped into my head and I decided to start writing. The updates, (If they are wanted at all) may be irregular, as I don't actually have the Internet at the moment, (Long story- I'm using a school computer at the mo), but they WILL be done. I think that I may get it back soon though, so eventually, ALL of my stories will be updated. I have written at least one new chapter for each of my unfinished stories already, it's just a matter of net access. Adding to that, I also don't have any access to my e-mail, so, sorry if it seems like I'm ignoring anyone :)**

**A/N2 Just to warn everyone in advance, this is a B/A story, and if you don't like that sort of thing, then I would advise against reading it, and I don't know why you would be here in the first place. **

**A/N3 If anyone has any factor that they would like to see in this story, eg, add one of your favourite characters, maybe for me to concentrate on a specific thing or genre, PLEASE do tell me, it makes it more of a challenge for me to write, which is more fun, and it also lets me know what sort of thing you guys want to read. Moving on to the actual story now...**

**I DISCLAIM EVERYTHING!!!**

**Prologue: Startling Revelations:**

Joyce Summers stuffed her paperwork into her smart black handbag as she got up from her desk to leave. It was 23:30, and she'd be damned if she was going to stay here any longer. The hours that she worked were ridiculous, and she knew that her job was driving her and her daughter further and further apart, but she could do nothing about it. Liam Angelus Sr. was a hard man to work for. She had of course heard the stories of his greatness 'back in the day', when he had founded Angelus Industries on his own, but she was also witness to the broken, shell of a man that his wife's death had left him as. And she was less than impressed. Some days she would enter his private study to tell him that she was leaving for the night, only to find him passed out on the floor, a bottle of alcohol firmly in his grasp. Other days she wasn't quite so lucky, having to endure a torrent of slurred abusive outbursts, for which he would sincerely apologise for early the next day.

She remembered the first time that she had encountered her employer's violent temper, she had absent-mindedly entered his private study without thinking to knock. He was so angered by this that he ended up throwing a bottle at the wall and screaming at her to get out. She had been so badly frightened and intimidated by him that she had avoided him wherever possible, despite the beautiful bouquet of flowers he had sent in apology the next day. Since then, Joyce had had numerous encounters with her drunken boss, and though he still intimidated her, his violent outbursts had become routine.

No, working for Angelus Sr. certainly was not easy. Joyce was sure that she would have long ago quit, if it wasn't for the impressive sum of money that he bestowed upon her for her services as his personal secretary. And of course there was the schooling.

Angelus academy was an impressive accomplishment, even for the slightly younger, happier Angelus Sr. of the time. The extremely private school was of course one of the best in the country, and extremely difficult to get into. Which was why Joyce was thrilled that Angelus Sr. had agreed to let her daughter Buffy attend the highly successful high school next month. She had heard that even Mr. Angelus' own children went there.

Since Angelus Sr. insisted that all of his assistants have a set of rooms to work in within the Angelus mansion, Joyce had often come across his two children, Liam Angelus Jr. and Katherine Angelus, wandering about the huge property from time to time. And though both were polite when spoken to, and did not appear to have allowed their wealth go to their heads, Joyce worried about them. Of course she hardly knew them, but she knew from the haunting looks in their eyes, especially the older one's, that they were unhappy in their lives. And who could blame them? Their mother had died when they were younger, and their father was a raging alcoholic, with definite rage issues. Joyce also suspected that the boy, Liam Jr. might have problems at school with bullying, judging by the almost constant bruising that she saw on him. She had considered telling Mr. Angelus about it, but she had decided that it wasn't really any of her business.

Now, as she exited her 'office' the familiar sound of an intoxicated Angelus Sr. made her cover her ears. His slurred screaming was hard to make out over the racket of crashing furniture and smashing bottles. Mrs. Summers sighed, even as she winced at a particularly loud string of curses reached her ears. Who knew how long she would have to wait before she could safely enter his room to announce her departure? Not that he would notice anyway, she told herself. Just as she was heading resolutely down the hallway to leave, a loud thump sounded from the room, and the door to the study slowly opened.

Joyce's mouth fell open as Liam Angelus Jr. limped out of the room, holding his left arm limply at his side, his swollen lip bleeding below a black eye, his face pained. Her shock was mirrored in his eyes as he turned and saw her staring at him. The next moment, his face was masked and expressionless as he deliberately straightened his back, and solemnly nodded at her before turning and walking away.

Joyce stood there, routed to the spot, looking from where Liam had stood just moments before, to the office where she knew Angeus Sr. would be laying unconscious on the floor. Usually, she would have tried to make him more comfortable, perhaps tried to have revived him with a coffee, but after what she had just seen... What had she just seen? She had of course known about his temper, but to beat his own child? She felt sick at the thought. And she knew that it couldn't have been the first time this had happened. All the time that she had seen the cuts and bruises on Liam, she had thought he had been being bullied at school. It hadn't even crossed her mind to think that Mr. Angelus could be so cruel. Joyce shuddered to remember how defeated and accepting Liam had looked as he exited the room.

Shaking, she picked up the bag that she didn't remember dropping to the floor, and ran out of the house as quickly as she could.

Buffy was on the phone to Cordelia when she heard her mother walk through the front door.

"Ooh I gotta go Cordy, mom's back." she told her on again- off again friend, smiling when she heard the familiar reply;

"You so need to get a private line, Buffy"

"Believe me when I say I know," she answered, before saying her goodbyes and hanging up as her mother entered the kitchen.

Buffy's cheerful expression immediately disappeared as she saw her mothers distraught one. She looked exhausted as she slouched into the nearest chair, forcing a brief smile at her worried daughter.

"Mom?" Buffy ventured, "What's wrong?" She refrained from informing her mother that she looked like hell, and sat down opposite her, with her 'sympathetic daughter' look firmly fixed on her face.

"Rough day at work?" She asked, when she got no answer. Joyce didn't seem to hear her, as she tiredly rested her head on the counter for a brief moment, before finally looking up at her concerned daughter.

"Do you remember I told you about Mr. Angelus' son?"

Buffy made a face at the mention of her mothers slave driving employer, but nodded none-the-less, curious as to where this was going.

"Do you remember how I talked to you about thinking he might have problems at school?"

Actually, Buffy didn't, but she nodded anyway, waiting to hear more of whatever was bothering her mother, and not wanting to distract her from whatever she was going to say.

"Well," Mrs Summers continued, shrugging helplessly, "he's not."

Buffy frowned, "And this is a bad thing why?"

Joyce stared down at the counter, as if the answers to all her problems would be written there on the smooth marble surface.

"He's having problems at home instead."

"Who doesn't?"Buffy retorted quickly, but immediately sobered as she took in her mother's sombre demeanour.

"What kind of problems?"

"I think... "Joyce started, still staring intently at the counter, "I think that Mr. Angelus hits him."

Buffy was silent.

If she were to be completely honest with herself, she couldn't say that she was exactly surprised at the news. She knew exactly what the ill- tempered billionaire was like, not only from her mother, but from her own experiences as well. However, she also knew that her mother had been secretly hoping that by some miracle, he would some day simply snap out of his downward spiral, and thought that he couldn't possibly be as bad as he seemed.

"Well, what are we talking about here?" She asked her mom gently, "I mean, lots of parents hit their kids, it might have been nothing, a one off type thing?"

Of course, Buffy believed no such thing, but she figured she should at least get all the facts straight first, before judging so harshly.

Her mother shook her head sadly, and decided to tell her daughter the full story. Buffy sat in silence throughout her speech, and her mother noticed that she didn't seem at all shocked at the discovery, although she obviously felt sorry for the Angelus kids, somehow, this realisation saddened her.

It shamed her to think of how trusting she had been, realising that she was probably the only one oblivious enough not to have noticed sooner what sort of person Mr. Angelus Sr was.

She found herself wondering whether he sent flowers to little Liam Jr after their fights, before she mentally shook herself from that irrelevant and silly thought and stood from her chair.

"I'm tired, sweety, I'm just gonna go to bed now, "She told her daughter, knowing that she was avoiding the subject, but not having the energy to do anything about it. She leant down to kiss her on the forehead, before leaving.

"Sure mom, night," Buffy replied absently. She wished that she could help her mom out with the problem, but she just didn't know what to do in this situation. That Angelus Sr. was a menace and Buffy just knew that eventually, she would think up an appropriate punishment for his cruelty. For now though, she could do nothing but helplessly sit by and watch, and she hated it. She spared a thought for that poor Angelus boy, feeling sorry for him, and briefly noting that she would probably be attending school with him in a couple of weeks, before getting up and following her mothers path upstairs. Soon she would be in bed, though she knew that she wouldn't get to sleep for a while.

**Okey Dokey, that's my first chapter, and yes I am aware that there's something just a little bit off about it, but I'm too annoyed to figure out what it is just now. Maybe I'll redo it later.**

**For now though, please review, it will both help my writing and give me the incentive to continue. Unless you don't want me to, in which case, review and tell me to stop.**

**Hope you all at least liked the basics of the story, I promise that the shoreline is not as straightforward as it seems, I always like a few twists and turns in my stories. :)**

**Lots Of Luv, **

**Angie :)**

**X**


	2. Iv herd so much about u

**A/N: all the same A/Ns as last time, except for WOW! Thanks for all the reviews I got. It really was great to read them, and as thanks, I decided to update this chapter a little earlier than I planned :)**

**Hope you all like this chapter as well, any suggestions, please don't hesitate to ask. Its my own original story, so anythings possible!!!**

**Luv Angie :)**

**Chapter 2: I've heard so much about you.**

"Buffy!" Joyce called upstairs, "You're gonna be late for your first day!"

"Coming!" Her daughter yelled from upstairs, and Mrs Summers couldn't help the smile that graced her lips. Buffy always took forever getting ready, and it was something that Joyce knew would never change about her, not that she minded, she always made it eventually.

Finally Buffy appeared at the top of the stairs, smiling innocently at her mother as if nothing was amiss. Joyce rolled her eyes, and they both made their way to the car.

"So how do you like my outfit?" She asked her mother with a grin. Joyce returned it as she took in her daughter's new school uniform; dark grey pleated skirt, white form fitting blouse, black v-necked cardy jumper, and last but not least, a decidedly unfashionable black and grey stripey tie with the school emblem on it. Joyce surpressed a smile.

"It could be worse." She told her daughter, knowing before she said it that she wouldn't believe her.

Buffy scoffed, "Yeah, I could have to wear a blazer, like the boys do." Really though, Buffy was secretly glad for the uniform, knowing that there was no way that her meagre wardrobe could in any way match those of the undoubtedly rich kids that attend the school. Of course, she would never admit this though, and so, she crossed her arms and pouted until her mother made the appropriate sympathetic sounds.

Joyce wasn't worried about her daughter. She knew that Buffy had the sort of personality that drew people to her like moths to a flame, and she had no doubt that she would fit right in at this new school, despite their distinct difference in class. And so She was smiling and waving at her daughter in good spirits as she dropped her off outside Angelus Academys.

Contrary to her flawless appearance, Buffy was nervous as hell. She was both looking forward to and dreading her first day at her new school, and was so caught up in her own thoughts that she barely heard her mothers words of encouragement and calls of 'good luck!' as she left her in front of the huge campus.

Everywhere, students were going about their daily businesses, some chatting loudly in groups, some strolling past on their own, but all of them unbeknownst of Buffy, who stood on her own, and gulped nervously.

Quickly, she scanned the crowds to check on her appearance. On the first day, she knew that it was important to fit in, and that meant looking the same as everyone else.

She spotted a nearby group of popular looking girls about her age, and studied their appearance quickly. Hastily, she loosened her tie, untucked her blouse, and left her top collar button undone. She hesitated at rolling her skirt up as far as theirs, though, deciding that it wasn't exactly the image she wanted to project. After checking her hair and rolling up the sleeves of her uniform top, she made her way confidently towards the school entrance with a spring in her step that she really didn't feel.

Buffy looked down at the timetable she had been given, double checking the room number, before following a few of her fellow classmates through said door and approaching the neatly dressed middle-aged man at the front of the class, whom she assumed was the teacher.

He peered over his glasses at her, and she was relieved when he smiled warmly. She couldn't help but smile in return. The secretary had been far less friendly.

"Ah," he said, "You must be Buffy Samson?"

"Summers," she corrected politely, still smiling.

"Oh, yes of course, do forgive me," She noticed that he had a distinct British accent, and at his politeness decided that she liked him immediately.

"Welcome to Angelus Academy, Buffy. My name is Mr. Giles." He informed her, "If you have any questions or worries, please don't hesitate to ask, but for now, please do take a seat over there." He pointed to a nearby empty desk, and Buffy dutifully sat down, and waited whilst the rest of the class arrived.

As soon as everyone was seated, Mr. Giles cleared his throat, and the class immediately settled down. Buffy was impressed, at her old school, it took a hell of a lot more than that for the class to be quiet, and so she assumed that either Mr. Giles was a respected man, or he had a hidden strict side to him. Buffy suspected the former.

"Now, everyone, today, we have a new student joining us," He informed the class, and immediately, heads swivelled round to look at her. She quickly fixed her 'I'm confident and popular' smile on her face, and forced herself to resist the urge to blush and start fidgeting with her pencil until they all turned back to the front of the class again.

"Her name is Buffy Summers," Giles continued, "and I trust that you will all do your best to make her feel welcome here at Angelus Academy."

With that over, Giles resumed the history lesson as normal, and Buffy let out a sigh of relief for the fact that she didn't seem to be getting any, 'You're new and I don't like you' vibes from anyone. So far.

Since they had all had a chance to judge her, she decided that it was only fair for her to be able to do the same, and so, began to subtly inspect the class. From what she could tell, it was your average mix of students. You had your garden-variety geeks, jocks and cheerleaders, whom she immediately picked out despite the equalising uniforms.

Then there were the undeterminables, the people who didn't quite belong to any particular category. They were the ones who made up the majority of the class. They weren't unpopular, some even hung with the popular cheerleaders, but there was always something individual about them that kept them back from being really popular. Buffy herself belonged in that group. She didn't mind, to be really popular in most cases, would require her to be a total bitch, and she just wasn't that kind of a person. There was also the unforgivable fact that she was not rich, or unflappably confident, nor was she willing to flaunt her sexuality. These facts disqualified her as runner for queen bitch of this school. But of course they didn't know that yet.

Buffy was surprised when a note was passed on to her desk, she hadn't made eye contact with anyone in particular yet, and so had no idea who it could be from. She carefully unfolded it, making sure to keep it out of sight of the teacher, and read;

Summers, right?

You related to Mrs. Joyce Summers? Think I overheard something about her daughter coming here soon, that you?

Welcome to Angelus Academy,

Liam

'Damn', she thought, she had planned on not letting people know that she wasn't rich until she had at least met a few people here, but apparantly her secret was out already.' Wait,' she thought, 'Liam?' she looked up to her right, to the person who had passed along the note. The friendly but slightly shy seeming red head smiled at her encouragingly, and Buffy took the chance while Mr. Giles' back was turned to quickly scribble a reply;

Thanks for the welcome, Liam

Liam as in Liam Angelus, Liam?

Yeah, my mom works for your dad I think?

Buffy.

She folded the note, and whilst Giles wasn't looking, she gave it to the red head, and watched carefully to see who she passed it to. She took the note and subtly placed it on the desk of the person to her right. Buffy couldn't see him past the girl in between them, but as he leaned forward and retrieved the folded piece of paper, he turned in her direction and gave her the most gorgeous half smile she had ever seen. His eyes were such a deep chocolatey brown, and his features were so breath-takingly handsome, that she could swear that she almost melted. He leaned back again, and she held her breath until she got his reply;

I knew it, your mom works with my dad,

I see her sometimes in the manor, she seems cool.

You kinda look like her.

She smiled at how he said that her mom worked WITH his dad, when they both knew that she worked FOR him.

She wrote back;

Yeah, people say I come after my mom,

I take it as a compliment,

Who do you think you come after?

He replied;

My mom too, thank god.

You have someone to show you around the school yet?

I'll help you out if you want.

Buffy's heart skipped a beat, and she hastily wrote back that she'd love that, before she realised that they were supposed to be taking notes on some war or other.

During a break in note taking, her thoughts drifted back to the handsome Liam Angelus Jr. Then suddenly she remembered back to what her mother had told her about two weeks ago, and she frowned. There was no way that it could be true, Liam did not seem the type of kid who was beaten by his father. There wasn't a bruise in sight, and he was way too... mysterious and confident, to have those sort sof problems. No, it couldn't be true, unless he was really good at hiding it.

She remained in that pensive mode until the bell rang, and she hastily packed up her things and got ready to go. Everyone was doing the same, but Buffy noticed that having packed up, everyone still stood behind their seats, and appeared to be waiting for something. She followed everyones example and looked to Mr. Giles at the front of the class.

Mister Giles waited until there was complete silence, and then proclaimed, "Class dismissed, good day." Before the entire class headed for the doors. 'Okay, that was new,' Buffy thought to herself, usually, as soon as the bell had gone at her old school, people would be rushing for freedom, students and teachers alike. She shrugged, and turned to go, before noticing the red head who sat beside her and Liam himself waiting for her, with their own individual smiles and half smiles on their faces.

Okay then. That's that chapter finished. I would just like to say thank you sooo much to everyone who reviewed. Next chapter, I will thank you all individually, but im in a rush to get this updated right now, so ill just say that I really really appreciated it sooo much, and it really gave me the incentive to write more... and fast! Lol,

**please review!!!!**

**Lots of luv, **

**Angie**

**x**


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